Communication systems that communicate voice and text messages are extensively used in telephony and wireless communication systems. For example, European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI) has specified a Global Standard for Mobile Communication (GSM) that uses time division multiple access (TDMA) to communicate control, voice and text information over radio frequency (RF) channels. In the U.S., Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) has published a number of Interim Standards, such as IS-136, that define various versions of digital advanced mobile phone service (D-AMPS), with the capability of transmitting voice and data to subscribers.
Both of these standards incorporate a Short Message Service (SMS) protocol for broadcasting short text messages to the mobile terminals. Under these standards, a SMS Broadcast Channel (S-BCCH) is used to transmit point-to-multipoint text messages to a group of mobile terminals, such as cellular phones.
Also, text-to-speech converters are used in communication systems to convert text messages into voice messages. Generally, the text to speech conversion function in these systems is integrated in a central network controller. For example, in one wireless communication system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,486, text messages that are inputted into a mobile computer are transmitted to a central network controller. The central network controller applies the transmitted text messages to a text-to-speech converter to produce corresponding voice messages, which are delivered to a caller.
Currently, the maximum number of characters that can be broadcast under SMS is limited to 160 characters. Due to advances in computer-telephony interaction technology, however, the number of transmitted text characters is expected to grow rapidly. A problem with receiving SMS text messages on mobile terminals is providing an adequate display to allow the user to easily read the messages. A known problem with SMS messaging is providing the mobile terminals with a screen big enough to allow the user to easily read the message. This problem will only be exacerbated by increases in the SMS message length.
Accordingly, a need exists for a user friendly interface to access the text message at a mobile terminal.